I. Field of the Invention
I. The present invention relates to a ballast circuit for an arc discharge lamp and more particularly, to a circuit for repetitive pulsed operation of a xenon arc discharge lamp.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A linear, xenon arc discharge lamp to be operated in a pulsed mode requires a power supply which provides a current to the lamp is brief pulses with a repetition rate sufficiently rapid to produce the appearance of continuous light. A synchronous supply producing 120 pulses per second is suitable for some applications whereas other applications require a faster rate.
Magnetic circuits have been used for the pulsed operation of xenon arc lamps. Such magnetic circuits, however, provide a substantial portion of the current at a low level between the pulses. The result of this is to produce relatively low luminous efficiency of the lamp. Present magnetic circuits are also confined to operate at line frequency or multiples thereof.
It is desirable therefore to provide a circuit capable of operating a linear xenon arc lamp in a pulsed mode. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a circuit for pulsed operation of a linear xenon arc discharge lamp, preferably operable at a frequency of 240 Hz.